Volcanoes - Extreme Events: A Physical Reconstruction and Risk Assessment - page 212

Torrence et al .(2000)investigated the impact of volcanic eruptions on human set-
tlements in the West New Britain region of Papua New Guinea. This region expe-
rienced up to 13 eruptions from the Witorio volcano and four eruptions from
the Dakataua volcano during the mid- to late-Holocene (5000--1000 years BP).
These volcanic episodes resulted in the regular abandonment of settlements,
theintensification of subsistence agriculture and a punctuated trend in the use
and development of stone tools.
Volcanoes and mythology
It is entirely possible that many myths from various cultures are based
upon real extreme events. This seems reasonable if these events had a profound
impact upon those peoples. Volcanic eruptions are clearly dramatic events and
of course have been devastating to many cultures. Santorini and Vesuvius are
classic examples. It is interesting then that myths from the ancient peoples of
theMediterranean region appear as if they could be based upon major volcanic
eruptions of the past. Hesiod's Theogony ,for example, is a record of the lineage
of the Greek Gods and their struggles for power. It is the earliest surviving doc-
ument of Greek literature devoted mainly to mythical topics. Greene (1992) has
suggested that major volcanic eruptions may have been the inspiration for the
battles between the gods, and particularly the sequence of events in these bat-
tles and their appearance, sounds and effects on the physical world. The battle
between Zeus and the Titans, possibly describes the Santorini eruption at Thera
around 1500 BC. The battle between Zeus and the monster Typhoeus may also
be an accurate description of the Mount Etna eruption of 735 BC. If these myths
were based upon real extreme events then they may have survived as oral stories
or descriptions for approximately 700 years until they were first written. How-
ever, if they did survive for this length of time, the accuracy of the description of
the actual event may be questionable. It is also uncertain whether the particular
eruption described can be distinguished from other volcanic eruptions on the
basis of qualitative, colloquial and figurative descriptions in the mythology and
the geological evidence (Greene, 1992).
Geological records of prehistoric volcanic eruptions can at least help to better
ascertain the nature of the relationship between the myths and actual events.
The battle between Zeus and the Titans does, for example, follow a logical
sequence of a volcanic eruption. Table 8.3 compares the sequence of events in
Zeus's battle and that likely to have occurred during the eruption at Thera. Not
only does the physical and chronological sequence of the eruption follow the
physical and chronological sequence of the battle, but the time around 1500 BC
when the volcano actually erupted fits with the assumed time of the battle.